HOW THE WARE SYSTEM WORKS

By Dr. Dorothy Cantor

Understand that the goal of the WARE system is to allow all voters to have a say in the outcome of the election. If their first choice is out of the race, then their second choice counts, and so on. Here's how that is accomplished:

First, a formula is used which determines the number of votes the winner of the election must have.

Then, picture the ballots as a deck of cards. On the first sort, all the cards are sorted according to the #1 vote on each card. We now have 5 stacks of cards, one for each of the 5 candidates. Someone has the shortest stack. So we pick up that stack, and redistribute it to the remaining 4 stacks, according to the #2 vote on the card.

Now we again have a shortest stack. We pick it up, and redistribute it to the remaining 3 stacks (remember, each stack represents a candidate). We look at the #2 vote, and redistribute. But what if the #2 vote was for the candidate who no longer is in the race (and no longer has a stack)? Then we look
at the voter's #3 vote.

At this point, if no candidate has received the number of votes needed to win, the shortest stack is once again eliminated and redistributed, either according to the #2, or #3, or #4, depending on whether the voter's candidates are still standing.

After this distribution, with only two candidates left, one will have more votes than the other and be declared the winner.

 

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